CD47 is a membrane receptor that belongs to the
immunoglobulin superfamily and plays an important role in the mechanisms of tumor immune escape. CD47 participates in tumor immune escape by combining with SIRPĪ± to reduce the phagocytic activity of macrophages. There are six potential N-glycosylation sites on CD47, and glycosylation is known to be necessary for its membrane localization. However, it is still unknown to what extent glycosylation influences CD47
ligand binding properties and subsequent signaling. By using immunoprecipitation and confocal
laser scanning microscopy, we showed that CD47 contains
Lewis y antigen. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that both the positive expression and the overexpression of CD47 and
Lewis y antigen in
cancer tissues and borderline
tumors were significantly higher than those in benign ovarian
tumors and normal ovarian tissues (P < 0.05). A linear correlation between the expression patterns of CD47 and
Lewis y antigen was evident (r = 0.47, P < 0.01). The high expression of CD47 and
Lewis y antigen showed significant correlations with the clinical pathological parameters of
ovarian cancer [International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) standards,
lymph node metastasis, and degree of differentiation] (P < 0.05). The Cox model and Kaplan-Meier tests showed that high expression of CD47 was an independent adverse risk factor for the prognosis of
ovarian cancer. Cases with both high CD47 and
Lewis y antigen expression had poor prognoses. Our study demonstrates that Lewis y
antigens of CD47 may play a crucial role in the development of
ovarian cancer, and could be new targets for
immunotherapy for
ovarian cancer.